Dele Alli has revealed he was sexually abused at the age of six and was dealing drugs by the time he was just eight years old. In an emotional interview, the Everton midfielder fought back tears as he laid bare his difficult upbringing before he was adopted by the Hickford family. Alli also told Gary Neville in The Overlap podcast in partnership with Sky Bet that he has battled a sleeping pill addiction and only came out of rehab last month as he struggled with his mental health. The England international, who spent last season on loan at Besiktas, said: “When I came back from Turkey, I came in and I found out that I need an operation and I was in a bad place mentally. “I decided to go to like a modern-day rehab facility for mental health. They deal with like addiction, mental health, and trauma because it was something that I felt like it was time for. “I think with things like that, you can’t be told to go there. I think you have to know, and you have to make the decision yourself, otherwise it’s not going to work.” Alli said that he had been able to mask his difficulties. “To be honest, I was caught in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm and, yeah, I think I was waking up every day and I was winning the fight, you know, going into training, smiling, showing that I was happy,” he said. “But inside, I was definitely losing the battle and it was time for me to change it because when I got injured and they told me I needed surgery, I could feel the feelings I had when the cycle begins and I didn’t want it to happen anymore. “So, I went there, I went there for six weeks and Everton were amazing about it, you know. They supported me 100 per cent and I’ll be grateful to them forever.” Alli – a key part of the England side that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals – laid bare the sickening abuse he received as a child, saying he was “molested” at the age of six. “I was sent to Africa to learn discipline, and then I was sent back,” he said. “At seven, I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs. “An older person told me that they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike, so I rode around with my football, and then underneath I’d have the drugs, that was eight. Eleven, I was hung off a bridge by a guy from the next estate, a man. “Twelve, I was adopted – and from then, it was like – I was adopted by an amazing family like I said, I couldn’t have asked for better people to do what they’d done for me. If God created people, it was them.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Chloe Kelly knows every England player needs to be ready at World Cup Para-triathlete Mel Nicholls dreaming of success at Paris 2024 Sarina Wiegman keeping out of discussions over World Cup bonuses

NFL player Jordan Poyer of the Buffalo Bills announced that he has cancelled his annual golf event, following pushback and teams and sponsors pulling out of the charity tournament after they learned it would be hosted on a course owned by former President Donald Trump. The Bills safety announced the news on Instagram on Saturday. The event was set to take place next month at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in South Florida. “Unfortunately, the location of the event led to a few sponsors and golfers withdrawing at the last minute due to external pressures,” the 32-year-old wrote. “While it’s disappointing, I respect their decision. Nevertheless, we will persevere.” It remains unclear how many sponsors and teams withdrew because of the location. The event was intended to benefit the ECMC Foundation – the Erie County Medical Center – according to the Buffalo News. While Mr Poyer described them as a “big sponsor,” the foundation said they were simply the beneficiary. ECMC Foundation executive director Susan Gonzalez wrote in a letter to the Buffalo News that the “ECMC Foundation was fortunate to be a beneficiary of Jordan Poyer’s golf tournament in Florida”. “Although the Foundation was not a sponsor, we have had an excellent partnership with Jordan and we respect his decision to cancel his tournament; we hope he will consider supporting us in his future events,” she added. Last year, PGA of America ended its connection to Mr Trump and moved the 2022 PGA championship from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course as a result of the January 6 2021 insurrection, Yahoo! Sports noted. The R&A revealed earlier this month that it wouldn’t organise the British Open at Mr Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland while Mr Trump is the owner. The course previously hosted the tournament in 2009, about five years before Mr Trump acquired it. Mr Trump came under fire during his time as president when he suggested hosting the G7 summit at Doral. But Mr Trump’s courses have hosted several events organised by Saudi-operated LIV Golf. On Wednesday, the PGA Tour revealed that it would appear before a Senate subcommittee in July. Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal has asked executives from the tour, as well as Saudi golf interests to appear before the panel as they probe the deal between the PGA and LIV that shocked the golf world. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing on 11 July to look into the agreement between the PGA tour, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, and the European tour to gather commercial business and rights in a new firm, the AP noted. “Our goal is to uncover the facts about what went into the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and what the Saudi takeover means for the future of this cherished American institution and our national interest,” Mr Blumenthal said in a statement. “Americans deserve to know what the structure and governance of this new entity will be. Major actors in the deal are best positioned to provide this information, and they owe Congress — and the American people — answers in a public setting.” Read More Pence won’t say whether he’d pardon Trump Trump news – live: Trump named ‘Man of the Decade’ at GOP dinner as NFL star cancels golf event over backlash Trump is funneling 10% of 2024 campaign donations to cover his legal bills Rape accuser files new lawsuit as Trump seethes over 2024 flop – live Where do Donald Trump’s family stand on him running in 2024? Trump revealed to have tweeted classified image from spy satellite

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